


My Thoughts on Amethyst

by PandoraTheExplorer



Series: Month of Drabbles Challenge 2018 [16]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, pearl loves amethyst so much yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 07:23:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16081274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandoraTheExplorer/pseuds/PandoraTheExplorer
Summary: Prompt by @Mandaree1: "To Pearl, what is your opinion an Amethyst now? Are you closer or farther than you used to be?"





	My Thoughts on Amethyst

**Author's Note:**

> Day 23 of my 2018 Month of Drabbles Challenge.

My feelings on Amethyst? Well, you’re right. They have changed a lot since I first met her. Who knew that so much can change in four thousand years?

~

I think Amethyst is impulsive. She rushes headfirst into battle without any regard for her own personal safety. She’s been poofed and her gem’s been cracked more times than I could count, all because of her carelessness. Honestly, doesn’t she understand that jumping off of a malfunctioning gem ship at terminal velocity is not worth grabbing that gem monster that fell off?

But her impulsiveness has saved us all more times than I could count, too. I would never say this in front of Amethyst, but her instincts are perfectly honed to sense and fight danger. If it weren’t for her we’d have been shattered hundreds of times already.

I think those instincts comes from her programming as a quartz soldier, not that she knows about any of that. But no matter how much of a fresh start you have, I guess you can never break free of Homeworld’s programming. 

Not that Amethyst isn’t going better than Rose thought she would. She got to grow up free of Homeworld’s duties and prejudices in a way I could only dream of. I think it’s affecting Garnet and I, too. When I see her, I no longer feel the tinge of fear and intimidation I used to feel when seeing a quartz soldier back on Homeworld. Instead, I feel the fondness I never knew existed before I came to Earth. This is one of the wonders of Earth, I’ve realized-the fact that Amethyst is free to be impulsive with little consequence. 

~

I think Amethyst is immature. She makes jokes at the most inappropriate times. She mishandles important artifacts because it’s “fun.” Do you know how many missions she’s almost jeopardized because of this “fun?” How many corrupt gems she let escape because she tried to ride it? How much ancient gem tech she ruined because she thought it would be funny to juggle spare parts? You’d think a quartz soldier like her would have been programmed to take things seriously!

But then again, Amethyst has never known a world where quartzes are anything different from what she is. She is only a few thousand years old, after all, and is still learning. Maybe it’s better this way, to let her live her life without any idea of what or who she should be like, to let her make her own choices. Wasn’t that exactly what Rose wanted to do?

It’s not like I don’t find it comforting when she tells me jokes after a long day of fighting. Amethyst knows me well enough to know exactly what to do to make me feel better. She knows how to make Garnet feel better, too, and how to keep Steven occupied when the rest of us go on missions not fit for a human child. She’s everyone’s therapist, entertainer, and caretaker. I suppose that’s a kind of maturity on its own.

~

I think Amethyst is independent. She would disappear for days or months or even years without telling anyone and come back much later with new friends and enemies and at least three souvenirs of things she should not have been able to get a hold of. Everyone was worried for the first few hundred years after she joined us, but after a few centuries, we were used to it.

What’s annoying is that recently, she’s gotten Steven into the habit of joining her on their random adventures. Granted, she never leaves for more than a few days now, but it’s still strange to warp back to the base and panic because I don’t hear Steven welcoming me back. I thought that once Steven was put in our charge Amethyst would know better than to take so many of her “field trips,” but evidently nothing’s changed. We are Steven’s guardians now. We need to take responsibility for him. Why doesn’t she realize that?

Although…when Amethyst takes Steven out on one of her trips, she always manages to keep him safe. Steven seems to be having fun with Amethyst. He seems to be having more fun than he could ever have with me.

That’s alright. I don’t mind. Steven is still a human child, after all. Human children need excitement and education and safety. As long as Amethyst understands the limits to how far Steven can go, she can keep him emotionally satisfied while I keep him physically safe. Amethyst still has much to learn before she becomes a good parent, but I think I have much to learn, as well.

~

In a way, I envy Amethyst. She has had so many things handed to her that I had to fight for-freedom, fun, and love. I think she doesn’t nearly appreciate those things for what they’re worth, but I suppose it isn’t her fault, either.

Amethyst has never known a world where those things aren’t available for her taking. She has never known what it’s like to be reduced to a glorified toy for a higher gem to fiddle with. She doesn’t understand the monotony of life on Homeworld, where function is always put over desire. She will never know what it’s like to gaze up at a beautiful gem after a long battle and realize that everything you’ve been taught in your entire existence was a lie except for her.

In a way, I’m proud of Amethyst. She is the first gem to grow up in a world that Rose and Garnet and all of our fallen comrades have worked so hard to build. When I look at her, I see what Homeworld could have been. I see the possibility of a new world. A better world where gems can live and grow the same way Amethyst did. And all that just spurs me to keep going.

What do I think of Amethyst? I think Amethyst is one of my closest friends in the world, and I don’t know what I’d do without her.


End file.
